Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-12-27

Iyuron told me that he rccollected seeing
perforated stones, or stones nearly per,
foratcd, from the channel of the streamt
attached 10 rowan tree near n house a.
the head OF the Kinncl, and that he I'M
derstOod both stones and rowan tree
were looked upon rs likely 70 scare
away evil influences. at orncar llcuch-
larg, in the adjoining parish OF Glen
cairn, might have been seen n hole IN
the wall OF the byre letting ont "a rope,
SO that ii evil spirits got IN they could
get ont more readily by the hole. | I'M
dcrstand that when | was carried TO
church for baptism the Young woman
who carried me bore a piece of bread and
cheese in her pocket, presenting 1t TO the
first person she met. who was expected
10 bless me. Baptisms being private IN
lvurOn, have nothlngof this kind tore
cord. The bcggar's benson, however. was
of such esteem in the eyes of an old
woman IN Tvnron that 1t secured n
nights lodging for many tramp. Sill
yer is lucky. A father gave lucky
shilling 10 his daughter at her marriage.
Crooked siXpeuces are worn at the
watch-chain, so YOU shall have silver
when Won first see the new moon. Turn
yOnr apron three times and lock at the
new moon. wishing for present and a
present shall arrive tO YOU ere It wane
away. The person trying the expert
ment received a. present pair of cnr-
tains, dozen Of eggs, and hen.
II Won sec the plough coming towards
YOU for the first time Of the New Year
1t augurs we'll but if you observe it
going away it is unlucky. 1t bodies III
10 turn when you are setting ont on
Journey. Il is better for you should the
day be q wet one. Great care should
be taken not TO burn hair or nails. II Is
unlucky to- pare your nails on q Sunday ::
but if Won pare them on Saturday expect
"a see your sweetheart tomorrow. Tues
dayaud Friday evenings are the orthodox
evenings for counting, but it Is not well
TO marry either ON Thursday or Satur-
day, while most Scotch marriages are
performed on Friday. ". McCaw, our
shcphcrd-author, told me that when he
was young many persons, IN coutrl-
hltiug to n rattle. wrote against their
subscription the word " Friday, expect
ing thereby better luck from tne dice,
1t is not well to change situations on
Saturday. saturdays enter is short
rcsidcrter' was astouished to find,
ON The other hand, that she would be a
bold hriic IN the North of England who
should elect to bc married on o Friday.
When I Was at Manchester last vacation
the mistress of the house IN which !
slept was awkwarliy placed, because her
new servant would not come on Friday
the uniucky, but would wait to Saturday,
oal her old servant departed on Thurs
day.
How shall We account for such contra
dictory viows of the caprices Of fortune
As am instauca Of similar contradiction
give the rhyme about the maepie--
Ones 'oy two'- g.iof
1ures'- marriage, iour's death
Such is the rhyme I had, but find in
the North Of England a different ycr-
sion
Ones sorrow, tvO'5 mrth,
Thr"c's 70 wedding, four- birth,
fiN. O. iuuerr', six Is shaw,
Seven draws the dead ava.
In DIR. Thistlcton Dyei's Folk Lore Of
Shakespeare occurs the following va
rant;
one Is -0uow, two m.rth,
Ihrea o. wedding. four birth;
Five heaven, six he'll
Seven the deus ain SELF,
Shakespeare calls the magpie magot, and
attributes to it uncaDny influences. /
quote the following rhyme from a native
of the district:
Gang and see the swallow Zee,
$40 ami hear toe g0Wk:
The fO1l before rs miunie'- ee,
And an that year we've luck.
If hare pass your path to the LETT it is
OF evil omen. but not if it cross to the
right. If a person eats the brains Of Il
hare he viii be ill-tempered afterwards.
This rynron saving is somewhat like La
Fon,aines estimate Of tine hare, whose
flesh produced melancholy In Swiit's
Polite Conversation hare-hesh is
called melancholy meat.
The robin and the wren are at Gods right hand.
The yedrock and the sparrow are the devils
how.and-arr0W.
The robin and the wren made their poTidge in
Ere the robin got a spoon the wren had them all
done.
A dairyman once asked me for the
scientific name of the "worm that first
breaks through the cofin-lid' lie also
informed me that the bat and dormouse
and the hedgehog were three OF the
seven sleepers. 10 rub shoulders with
a bride or IL BRIDEGROOM augurs a speedy
marriage. If girl eat herring before
going to bed she has a chance to dream
of her sweetheart. A rainy wedding
day goes with a greeting bride. 1T is
the correct thing to dance in stocking
soles Mt the marriage of a sister or
brother younger than yourself, the
sister Mt the sisters, the brother
vt the brothers. 1t bodies not
well to make u present to your
sweetheart OF knife or other sharp ar
ticle, lest it should cut love 1t was
custom nj Halloween 10 wind a clue in
ldln-pit with the expectation that your
future partner in life might be seen
holding the other end Of it, Should
girl scmpe hole where three or more
roads meet and apply her ear to it she
may hear a whisper telling her the trade
of her future lover. ii your palm
tickle, it Is Il sign that you shall soon
shake hands with the rich or obtain
money. Sitting down to meat causes
the invited guests TO arrive. The
tongs falling head foremost into
the ash.pit is sign that stranger
is coming. An itching palm is
a sign of change of weather. If your
right ear be warm or tingIe it is sign
that somebody is praising but If the left
you are being reyiled. 4 curly head is
sign of quiet temper. The hair Of the
eyebrows meeting above the nose signi-
iies unsteadiness and love of change.
The bowling OF dog at night is iudica-
tive OF death. The burning of withered
grass on the moors in spring " cankers
the air and brings onain." The clothes
OF dead men don't last long. A whis-
Ting woman and a Growing hen are UNI
canny. An excellent cure for warts is TO
rub them in the morning with your fasting
spittle It's unlucky to turn either horse
or vehicle widdershins that is, again
the sun. Ii is dangerous for future well
fare to pour out any liquid turning your
hand backwards. When a candle runs,
that is when a shaving descends down its